The present invention relates to a low water flush toilet and in particular to a toilet having a pulsator for providing uniform pulses of flush water to the bowl to produce consistent and repeatable flushing operation.
Water shortages and a general trend toward water conservation have lead to the use of low water flush toilets. In some geographic areas building codes require the use of low water flush toilets. The water supply in a recreational vehicle may be limited such that conservation of flush water by an RV toilet is essential.
As a result, many low water flush toilets have been developed. Several of these toilets, however, suffer from one or more deficiencies. A major problem with several of these toilets is insufficient cleaning of the bowl surface due to the smaller quantity of water used in flushing. This deficiency can at often times be caused by failure of the flush water to wet the entire bowl surface. If a portion of the bowl surface is not wetted by the flush water, that surface can not be properly cleaned. One factor contributing to unwetted bowl surfaces is the manner in which the flush water is delivered to the toilet. Toilets have conventionally been flushed using a rim feed in which a water manifold extends around the bowl with a number of outlets around the bowl periphery. Water flows downwardly from these outlets to the bowl discharge outlet. This arrangement works satisfactory in cleaning the bowl when large quantities of water are used to flush the bowl. Sufficient water is used in each flush to "fan out" from the outlet to cover the entire bowl surface. However, when this arrangement is used in low water toilets, the water may not fan out sufficiently to wet the entire bowl surface.
Some low water flush toilets also require an inlet water supply pressure in excess of 20 psi. In some recreational vehicles, as well as some remotely located buildings, the water supply pressure may not be sufficient to operate these toilets.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a toilet that consistently cleans the bowl surface using a minimum quantity of water.
It is a another object of the invention to provide a toilet in which the entire bowl surface is wetted during flushing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a toilet that operates at a minimum water supply pressure.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a low water flush toilet in which the flush operation is repeatable from one flush to another.
The low water toilet of the present invention utilizes a pulsator to produce pulses of flush water discharged into the bowl rather than a steady stream of water. The pulses are discharged from a nozzle in a horizontal direction onto a generally horizontal ledge around the periphery of the bowl adjacent its upper end. The water discharged at the beginning of each pulse has a higher velocity than the water discharged at the end of each pulse. The higher velocity water flows a greater distance around the periphery of the bowl prior to falling off the ledge and wetting the bowl surface than the lower velocity water. The differing water velocities in each pulse results in water falling off the ledge around the entire periphery of the bowl and following a generally swirling path around the bowl, wetting the entire bowl surface.
The swirling path of the water results in a longer path of travel for the water from the nozzle to the bowl discharge outlet compared to conventional rim feed toilets in which the flush water flows directly down from the rim to the outlet. The swirl pattern thus increases the bowl surface covered by the water, allowing less water to be used without sacrificing flush performance.
The pulsator produces uniform pulses of flush water regardless of the water supply pressure resulting in consistent and repeatable flush operation.
The single horizontal water discharge onto the ledge coupled with the pulsed discharge of water produces a flush in which the entire bowl surface is wetted, enabling the surface to be cleaned using a minimum quantity of water and also results in a consistent and repeatable flushing operation.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention become apparent from a consideration of the following description and appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.